Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal fitting with a resilient contact piece that projects between side walls, to a connector provided with such a terminal fitting, and to a use of the connector.
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62-120287 discloses a terminal fitting for a circuit board. The terminal fitting has a bottom wall and left and right side walls that extend from opposite edges of the bottom wall. A resilient contact piece extends from a front end of the bottom wall and is folded between the side walls. The contact piece projects up more than the opposite side walls for connection with the circuit board.
Some terminal fittings have a resilient contact piece accommodated in a rectangular tube. A tab of a mating terminal is inserted into the rectangular tube for connection with the resilient contact piece. Two upper walls extend from the upper edges of the opposite side walls of the rectangular tube over substantially the entire length of the side walls. Thus, there is no possibility that the side walls will be deformed to lean transversely.
Terminal fittings with a resilient contact piece that projects up more than the side walls have had no upper wall because the resilient contact piece is between the upper edges of the side walls. Thus, the side walls may lean inwardly and interfere with the resilient contact piece. As a result, resilient deformation of the resilient contact piece is hindered and a connection error between the terminal fitting and the circuit board may occur.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to provide a terminal fitting in which a resilient contact piece projects between opposite side walls of the terminal fitting and where the side walls are prevented from leaning in.
The invention is directed to a terminal fitting with a base wall and first and second side walls that project from the base wall. A resilient contact piece extends obliquely up and back from a mating end of the base wall. A contact portion of the resilient contact piece is configured for contacting a mating contact and projects from the base wall a distance greater than the projection of the side walls. The resilient contact piece is resiliently deformable obliquely toward the base wall and away from the mating side. At least one side wall has a lean-preventing portion that extends between the side walls and into an area located further from the base wall than a resilient deformation area of the resilient contact piece and toward the mating side. An extending end of the lean preventing portion faces the inner surface of the opposed side wall.
When an external force acts on the side wall in a direction to lean the side wall inwardly, the extending end of the lean-preventing portion and the inner surface of the opposite side wall engage to prevent the side wall from leaning inwardly. The lean-preventing portion extends into an area further from the base wall and closer to the mating side than the resilient deformation area of the resilient contact piece. Thus, the lean preventing portion does not interfere with the resilient contact piece.
The lean-preventing portion preferably is near the mating end of the side wall.
At least one side wall may have a protecting portion that extends in from the mating end of the side wall to face a bent portion at the mating end of the resilient contact piece. An upper edge of the protecting portion and a bottom surface of the lean-preventing portion preferably are in contact or are proximate to each other. Thus, external matter that may approach the front end of the resilient contact piece from the front will strike against the protecting portion and will not interfere with the bent portion at the front end of the resilient contact piece. Further, an external force that acts down on the lean-preventing portion urges the lean-preventing portion into contact with the upper edge of the protecting portion. As a result, the lean-preventing portion will not deform downwardly and the side wall will not lean inwardly.
A support preferably extends from the side wall opposite the side wall from which the lean-preventing portion extends and substantially contacts an upper surface of the lean-preventing portion. The support may receive downward forces that could otherwise deform the lean-preventing portion.
An error insertion preventing portion may extend from a side wall of the terminal fitting, and interferes with an opening edge of a cavity in a housing when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity in an improper orientation. The error insertion preventing portion preferably is on the support, and therefore is before the resilient contact piece. As a result, the resilient contact piece will not interfere with the opening edge of the cavity.
The invention also is directed to a connector with a housing that has cavities preferably arrayed substantially side by side. According to a preferred embodiment, the cavities are arranged at two stages. The above-described terminal fittings are inserted into the cavities.
The invention also is directed to a use of the above-described connector as a card edge connector, wherein the contact mate is a connection portion of a circuit board.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Even though embodiments are described separately, single features may be combined to additional embodiments.